Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the principal cause of parenteral non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) which is transmitted largely through blood transfusion and sexual contact. The virus is present in 0.4 to 2.0% of blood donors. Chronic hepatitis develops in about 50% of infections and of these, approximately 20% of infected individuals develop liver cirrhosis which sometimes leads to hepatocellular carcinoma. Accordingly, the study and control of the disease is of medical importance.
HCV was first identified and characterized as a cause of NANBH by Houghten et al. The viral genomic sequence of HCV is known, as are methods for obtaining the sequence. See, e.g., International Publication Nos. WO 89/04669; WO 90/11089; and WO 90/14436. HCV has a 9.5 kb positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome and is a member of the Flaviridae family of viruses. At least six distinct, but related genotypes of HCV, based on phylogenetic analyses, have been identified (Simmonds et al., J. Gen. Virol. (1993) 74:2391-2399). The virus encodes a single polyprotein having more than 3000 amino acid residues (Choo et al., Science (1989) 244:359-362; Choo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1991) 88:2451-2455; Han et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1991) 88:1711-1715). The polyprotein is processed co- and post-translationally into both structural and non-structural (NS) proteins.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, several proteins are encoded by the HCV genome. The order and nomenclature of the cleavage products of the HCV polyprotein is as follows: NH2-C-E1-E2-p7-NS2-NS3-NS4a-NS4b-NS5a-NS5b-COOH. Initial cleavage of the polyprotein is catalyzed by host proteases which liberate three structural proteins, the N-terminal nucleocapsid protein (termed “core”) and two envelope glycoproteins, “E1” (also known as E) and “E2” (also known as E2/NS1), as well as nonstructural (NS) proteins that contain the viral enzymes. The NS regions are termed NS2, NS3, NS4 and NS5. NS2 is an integral membrane protein with proteolytic activity. NS2, either alone or in combination with NS3, cleaves the NS2-NS3 sissle bond which in turn generates the NS3 N-terminus and releases a large polyprotein that includes both serine protease and RNA helicase activities. The NS3 protease serves to process the remaining polyprotein. Completion of polyprotein maturation is initiated by autocatalytic cleavage at the NS3-NS4a junction, catalyzed by the NS3 serine protease. Subsequent NS3-mediated cleavages of the HCV polyprotein appear to involve recognition of polyprotein cleavage junctions by an NS3 molecule of another polypeptide. In these reactions, NS3 liberates an NS3 cofactor (NS4a), two proteins (NS4b and NS5a), and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5b).
A number of general and specific polypeptides useful as immunological and diagnostic reagents for HCV, derived from the HCV polyprotein, have been described. See, e.g., Houghton et al., European Publication Nos. 318,216 and 388,232; Choo et al., Science (1989) 244:359-362; Kuo et al., Science (1989) 244:362-364; Houghton et al., Hepatology (1991) 14:381-388; Chien et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1992) 89:10011-10015; Chien et al., J. Gastroent. Hepatol. (1993) 8:S33-39; Chien et al., International Publication No. WO 93/00365; Chien, D. Y., International Publication No. WO 94/01778. These publications provide an extensive background on HCV generally, as well as on the manufacture and uses of HCV polypeptide immunological reagents. For brevity, therefore, the disclosure of these publications is incorporated herein by reference.
Sensitive, specific methods for screening and identifying carriers of HCV and HCV-contaminated blood or blood products would provide an important advance in medicine. Post-transfusion hepatitis (PTH) occurs in approximately 10% of transfused patients, and HCV has accounted for up to 90% of these cases. Patient care as well as the prevention and transmission of HCV by blood and blood products or by close personal contact require reliable diagnostic and prognostic tools. Accordingly, several assays have been developed for the serodiagnosis of HCV infection. See, e.g., Choo et al., Science (1989) 244:359-362; Kuo et al., Science (1989) 244:362-364; Choo et al., Br. Med. Bull. (1990) 46:423-441; Ebeling et al., Lancet (1990) 335:982-983; van der Poel et al., Lancet (1990) 335:558-560; van der Poel et al., Lancet (1991) 337:317-319; Chien, D. Y., International Publication No. WO 94/01778; Valenzuela et al., International Publication No. WO 97/44469; and Kashiwakuma et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,904.
A significant problem encountered with some serum-based assays is that there is a significant gap between infection and detection of the virus, often exceeding 80 days. This assay gap may create great risk for blood transfusion recipients. To overcome this problem, nucleic acid-based tests (NAT) that detect viral RNA directly, and HCV core antigen tests that assay viral antigen instead of antibody response, have been developed. See, e.g., Kashiwakuma et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,904; Beld et al., Transfusion (2000) 40:575-579.
However, there remains a need for sensitive, accurate diagnostic and prognostic tools in order to provide adequate patient care as well as to prevent transmission of HCV by blood and blood products or by close personal contact.